NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 038: The Arrival at the Camp
I woke up after everyone else, stirred by the enticing smell of breakfast. The first thing I’ve noticed is that my headache lessened and is much more manageable. That’s good; I don’t want to be a burden to the rest and we are supposed to reach the camp soon. And the earlier we return, the earlier we will be able to save everyone.
Filled with renewed conviction, I sit up – and the chatter in the background stops immediately. Soon enough I am surrounded by worried faces and voices, asking me how I feel. It’s clear Pola, Olka – and even Nugund – want to hug me, but stop themselves, wanting to avoid worsening my health. As soon as I confirm I’m better, I’m gently crushed from all sides and my ears are assaulted by a cacophony of relieved mutterings; honestly, I feel as if my heart grows with joy and love.
We stay in a pile of bodies until our bonding is interrupted by a loud grumble of my stomach; only now do I realise I’m ravenous! Luckily, the food is ready and I’m able to engorge myself with it. Funnily enough, I’m so famished that I block outside world as I’m devouring bite after bite, morsel after morsel. Only after I have finally sated my hunger, it occurs to me that there was a discussion going on… and I am left completely in the dark!
“Umm” I say, swallowing the last bit of food I’ve got left. “What’s going on?” I blush, slightly, embarrassed by my ignorance… and a salve of snickers and laughter that follows. But I join in on the fun – even I find the situation hilarious.
“We were wondering whether or not you are able to travel – you were, after all, knocked out cold by the Chieftain” Nugund answers, with a slight spite audible in the second part. Yuras reacts with a silly tehee, which makes me burst out into a loud cackle; it doesn’t fit him at all!
To my surprise, it spreads like a wildfire – even the herculean Krolsun gets affected! “I’ve already apologised at night – and we resolved the issue with Kora” I nod in confirmation, while he continues to answer my earlier query. “If you’re feeling well enough, I’ll carry all of you to the camp.”
“How?” I frown – and soon an idea sparks in my head. “It’s your axe, right? The belt? Or your coat? All of them are magical, so one of them must allow you to travel fast! Or fly! Or maybe teleport? It must be a teleport!” My excitement makes me babble out all kinds of speculations – to amusement of everyone – but I can’t help it, I’m going to see a brand new magic!
“It’s the axe – your first guess was correct” says Olka in-between giggles. “One of the things it can do, is allowing the wielder to safely jump over long distances! It’s nearly like flying, I heard!” The longer she speaks, the more enthusiastic she sounds; I guess she’s also fascinated by magic. But at the end she looks pensive and turns to the Rabbitkin. “Uhm… it’s the truth, right?”
“Absolutely!” The Chieftain is grinning. “Although some folks – especially first-timers – can find the experience… nauseating” he chuckles, no doubt because my smile turned sour… the same as Lynxgirl’s, what I notice when we look at each other. “Don’t worry about it” Yuras waves his hand dismissively. “It only happens to one in five Kin – so we should be safe” he says reassuringly. “So, the question is” his tone suddenly turns serious. “Are you feeling well enough to travel?”
“What do you think?” Pola interjects before I can answer; the coldness in her voice sending chills down my spine… but at the same time her protectiveness warms my heart. Especially since she hugs me tighter. “Can’t you smell it?!” She’s furious somehow. “You punched her so hard her heat ended!” She is shouting the last part and Yuras looks paler and ashamed; is it truly such a big deal? I haven’t even noticed – being ravenous and all – so why is it a thing to anger the calm Lisitha to such an extend?
“Umm… I think I’m good?” I begin a bit unsure myself – but then I smile to boost my own self-confidence and the confidence of others. “My head still hurts, but I think I’ll manage; and the end to my heat is even beneficial, no?” They look dumbfounded and confused by my statement – so I quickly clarify. “I mean, I won’t need to drink this tea you made last time to keep my head clear, no?” My silver vixen grabs my shoulders and leans in towards me, locking her eyes with mine.
“Are you for real?” She questions me in a low, serious voice; I nod and she shakes her head in disbelief. “You don’t understand what that means, do you?” I nod again and Pola sighs heavily; she seems disappointed and distressed initially, but it soon morphs into understanding and sadness. “You see… such a thing can only usually happen if a woman is hurt. Seriously hurt” I still don’t get it. “On a verge of death hurt.”
“Oh” I react weakly – probably too weakly for such a revelation. “But I didn’t have any dreams about the underworld… err, Zawsiety” I correct myself immediately. “I just dreamt about cuddling with large plushies; would that be the case if I was truly on the verge of death, Olka?” I call out the most competent person among us; she doesn’t look particularly happy about it, but reluctantly nods in confirmation. “See? I wasn’t really in mortal danger… oh” I look at massive Rabbitkin, realising he would have easily killed me if we were fighting seriously – and it makes me break into a cold sweat. I shake it off; he’s got his heart in the right place, so I shouldn’t be afraid of him. Actually, I should seek guidance from him, as he’s clearly much, much more experienced than me – and I have a hunch he would be a pretty good fighting instructor…
I shake off the distracting thoughts – there is a more pressing issue to address. “Anyway, I think I’ll be all right. Don’t worry” it’s clear Pola is still worried. “I think I’ll manage, so chill. But” I rise my index finger to accentuate my following statement. “I appreciate that you worry about me and I thank you for that – but the worst has passed. We can embark on our journey to the camp today; especially since we still have some time before we hit the road, no?” I stated, optimistically.
“And here we are!” Announces Chieftain Yuras as we land and he finally lets us go. I immediately keel over and puke, regurgitating today’s breakfast. I find a small solace in the fact I’m not the only one – I can hear that Olka is vomiting as well.
It turns out that we embarked on our journey much earlier than I anticipated. I also got to know that moving over long distances through magically enhanced jumps is not a very comfortable mode of travel… especially in a large group with a lot of luggage. I’m still wondering how we were all able to fit together! Alas, the tormentous trip is finished – and it’s not even that long past noon! Truly, the speed is the only saving grace of this debacle – what should have taken us 2 days, took only a half. It’s the only honestly impressive thing about it.
When I fully empty my stomach, I am able to rise up and finally take a look at our destination. However, the first thing I notice is the smell, of cooked food mixed with medicinal herbs, clashing with the stench of urine and waste, sprinkled with sweat and burning wood – and to top it all off, the aroma of sex permeating everything. However, my guts tell me that there’s magic involved, because all of it feels… subdued, as if someone was suppressing it. And honestly? It’s not as bad as I expected.
I also hear a lot; from the clutter of everyday life, through numerous voices of people talking indistinguishably, laughing, crying – up to a surprising number of people… fucking! Seriously, what’s up with that? Didn’t they lose many of their loved ones not that long ago? Then again, both of my lovers got intimate with me pretty quickly – and it is a vast understatement when talking about my Moonberry.
I look towards the camp and see it is obscured by an earthen wall – so I look up and my feelings get a confirmation; at some point, the smoke from all the bonfires bends downwards, never reaching the sky – but still dissipating. I guess it is a countermeasure against the dragon – it seems the monster has a good sense of smell. I wonder what else they did – maybe the camp is also hidden from the sight? Silenced? I can’t contain my excitement anymore and point up, then to the rampart.
“Is that due to magic? How does it work? Is the camp invisible from high up? Was that wall always here, or did you erect it with magic? Or was it built? How do you keep all the spells ongoing? How many people are there? Is that only your tribe, or are there also others? How do you feed everyone? Are there many wounded and sick? How do you treat them? Why are so many of Kin here so horny?” A flurry of questions stops only when I run out of breath – and what follows is a thunderous laughter of the wide Chieftain, soon joined by the rest.
“You see, Kora” begins the Krolsun as soon as his merriment calms down a bit. “Some Kin take after beasts like deer or goats – so they indeed have horns, regardless of what body type they have” I stare at him dumbfounded. “As for the food…”
“Mama!” “Rad!” As Yuras – who misunderstood my question hilariously – is about to answer more of my inquiries, our discussion is interrupted by sudden shouts; it annoys me slightly. I look towards the source – and what I see melts my irritation.
When we were talking, a small crowd started pouring from the camp and moving towards us. At the front, there is a small, silverfurred Foxkin boy, running as fast as he can on his short legs; opposite of him is Pola, also running as fast as gale. They meet and hug with a great affection, and I know it’s her son – the one she was so eager to talk about. It warms my heart and I smile involuntarily; I had no idea I was so sentimental to be so moved by a family reunion to such an extent!
However, the more I look, the more complicated my feelings become. Especially when Olka’s younger brothers come and start shouting over each other in excitement; I find that endearing initially, but with time… it feels as if the heart in my chest has been grabbed by an invincible force. I feel so… lonely. There’s nobody waiting for me here – and the weight of that realisation crushes me.
My mind conjures a memory of my Human parents, the ones from my previous world. I wonder how they must have felt after my death… how they must feel now. A sting of guilt pricks my soul and grabs my guts; here I am, having fun with my friends and reuniting them with their loved ones – while they are all alone, suffering. It feels as if I left them behind, and it feels… wrong.
They weren’t exactly good parents… but neither were they bad. I have no idea what I would do in their place – or if the concepts of “good” and “bad” parenting even can be applied in that situation. And yet, nobody deserves to go through what they went through… what they are still going through. While I was alive, I was finding all kinds of faults in them, constantly arguing and being a whining brat… now I fully understand I will never see them again and seeing all those reunited families…
I miss them.
I miss them so much…
Unbeknownst to me I fall on my knees and start sobbing. The fact that I have my collar on me and it makes it way harder to detect me, serves as a further layer of separation; I feel so lonely, it’s becoming unbearable.
Suddenly, a hand grabs my shoulder. I look along it and up – landing at Nugun’s melancholic face. Our sad eyes meet – and it feels as if a wave of electricity surged through my brain: I realise I’m not the only one.
I am not alone.
